By Aikman Fang (@aikmanfang) – Spear Reporter
San José State State women’s volleyball (4-2, 0-0) fell to No. 22 UCLA (5-2, 0-0) in four sets on Friday evening inside the Gersten Pavilion on the Loyola Marymount campus.
UCLA hit the ground running, as they would start with a 15-4 lead in the first set. Junior outside hitter Iman Ndiaye helped UCLA secure a 25-14 win with her four kills in the first set.
The Spartans would bounce back in the second set with a 17-11 start over UCLA. Sophomore outside hitter Blaire Fleming propelled the Spartans to a 25-20 win in the second set with six of her 12 kills on the day.
The third set was highly contentious with 11 ties and five lead changes. Graduate outside hitter Élan McCall helped UCLA finish SJSU 26-14 in the third set with her eighth kill. McCall would go on to finish the match with 11 kills.
UCLA would carry the momentum in the fourth and final set by starting with an 18-7 lead over the Spartans. Ndiaye would help UCLA finish the Spartans 25-17 with her tenth kill of the day.
Although, It should be noted that fifth-year setter Sarah Smevog moved up to fourth all-time in digs at San José State, with a team-high 10 kills and 1,352 total digs as a Spartan.
Head coach Trent Kersten reflected on how UCLA was “a good test for us.”
SJSU will play host Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 pm.